


the chlorine

by glitteryconcrete



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Swimming, High School, Homophobia, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Swimming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-13
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2019-03-04 04:35:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13356624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glitteryconcrete/pseuds/glitteryconcrete
Summary: sokka showed him the proper way to breathe and how to move your arms and zuko was in aw. watching sokka swim was addicting. he was a part of the water. he treated the water as his equal.//the dreaded high school gym unit.sokka and zuko.





	1. Chapter 1

the chlorine seemed to stand still in the air. zuko took a deep breathe inward, almost choking on the thick air of the pool deck. it reminded him of smoke, but instead of hating it. he was filled with a small bit of excitement.  
almost every kid was not happy about this unit, except one boy. sokka looked rather cheerful for the first day of the swimming unit in gym class. sokka was the star of element’s public high school varsity swim team. zuko, still had not taken off his shirt.   
while it was common knowledge that zuko had burn scars on his face, not many people knew they covered his chest as well.   
“lane assignments are on the wall. i want you all to join your lane partners and do a 5 minute tread as a warm up”   
zuko looked up at the assignments to find his swimming partners for the next three weeks. they were none other than a girl named suki and sokka the swim star himself. zuko hesitated to take off his shirt revealing several scars. a few girls whispered but no one said anything to his face. he was grateful.   
zuko had not talked to suki or sokka before, but that was not surprising, considering zuko didnt have many friends. when they treaded water he swam in silence. other groups chatted but zuko and suki remained very quiet. sokka chattered away about how excited he was to to swim more than he already does.  
“hey zuko, do you swim much?” sokka’s words cut through the thick air. no one asked zuko about his life. zuko had not swam since childhood, long before he had the scars that marked his body.   
“no, i dont,” zuko said sharply.   
their gym teacher rang out some words describing how to do freestyle and then had sokka demonstrate the stroke. zuko watched how sokka’s arms seemed cut the water smoother than a knife and how his body seemed glide across the water. when he breathed he took in a small breathe almost like air was not needed. it was beautiful.  
she had them swim 25 yards to see how they did. sokka was the first one to finish the lap by far, but zuko struggled a bit. he couldn’t get the breathing down, but god he tried.  
it went on like this for a few days.

zuko was still coughing up water a after days of trying freestyle. He just couldn’t do the breathing. anger boiled inside of him. he was shit everything else in his life, so why would swimming be any different. zuko splashed the water in anger. some people looked. others were used to his outbursts. suki backed away. but sokka looked at him with a smile.   
“hey it’s okay if you don’t it right away. swimming can be tough. but if you really want to learn i can show you a little bit after school. i have half an hour to burn before practice anyway.”  
zuko hated him. he hated that he was nice to him. he didn’t deserve kindness. but zuko nodded.   
as the rest of the class left the pool to shower and get changed zuko and sokka stayed behind as sokka asked their teacher if they could stay. she agreed.   
“zuko, why do you wanna learn to swim so bad?”  
zuko did not tell him the truth. water was the opposite of anger and fire. fire that had hurt him so deeply. water was calm. water heals.  
“i just, never learned, and i figure, i should learn.”  
sokka showed him the proper way to breathe and how to move your arms and zuko was in aw. watching sokka swim was addicting. he was a part of the water. he treated the water as his equal. “you have to be kind to the water. the water can be powerful. dont try to control it. let it guide you.” zuko tried. he was getting better. sokka nodded but still said he needed work. sokka grabbed zukos torso to guide him the correct way. he touched one of zukos scars.  
“dont touch me!”  
zuko ran quickly to locker room. sokka was confused.   
zuko dressed himself quickly, not bothering to brush his hair or dry fully off. he ran out of the locker room into the empty hall and out of school.   
you idiot. you dumbass. now he thinks you’re some kind of weirdo. he thinks youre a freak. you’re a freak. accept it. freak freak freak. 

zuko ran home. it was cold and he was damp but he didn’t have another way home so he ran the 2 miles home.   
“nephew, you’re late. sit down for a cup of tea. tell me about your day.”  
zuko reluctantly sat down. the kitchen was warm and full of steam. he explain to his uncle the events of the gym class and why he had to walk run home. his uncle sighed and shook his head.   
“nephew. accept friendship when it comes your way.” zuko nodded.

zuko sat alone at lunch the next day; this wasn't unusual. he nibbled on the cafeteria tacos and watched the room around him move. he could see jet talking to his gang about some girl he thought was hot. better jet objective women than beat up zuko. he looked up at who jet was miserably flirting with to see none other than sokka’s younger sister, katara, a freshman. katara was blushing but seemed to be messing with him; she was with suki, the girl from his lane, and toph, a blind genius child.   
he could also see sokka eating some goldfish with his friend aang and haru. they were laughing loudly. he smiled at a girl yue as she passed by. zuko felt jealousy.  
a girl named jin said hi to zuko as she passed. he ignored her. 

in algebra sokka skipped over to zuko. “so are we gonna continue your extra lessons or are you gonna run off again?”   
“we can do them again. but don't touch me.”  
“it’s a deal!” sokka ran off, smiling. zuko grinned as well.


	2. Chapter 2

for the next week zuko learned to swim quite well. he had pretty much mastered freestyle and backstroke. 

that weekend, zuko sat in his room, his full length mirror in front of him. he took off his shirt and pants until he was fully naked. he traced the scars that ran down his chest with his fingers. he touched the one on his face. he was a disgrace to his family. why couldn't you keep your mouth shut. you had to tell your father. you knew he wouldn't accept you but you spoke out anyway. you're disgusting. that's why you live with your uncle and go to some shitty public school.   
his thoughts were interrupted by his phone ringing.   
“hi zuko! i’m like hella bored and i was wondering if you wanted to hang out? like obviously you don't have to or anything but ya know it would be nice.” sokka seemed nervous.   
“is this some kind of joke? hey lets trick the fag into thinking he has friends. it’s not funny.”  
sokka seemed at a loss for words. “fag?”  
zuko couldn't breathe. he hasn't told anyone in almost two years. not since the “accident”. zuko hated himself more.   
“i'm not- i didnt- i just i don't mean-”  
zuko hung up the phone.

“nephew, i don’t what’s wrong, but you have to come out of your room at some point. it’s not healthy to stay alone with your thoughts for so long” it had been hours since the call, and zuko had not left is room once.   
zuko was silent. he couldn’t fuck up when he was silent.   
“i will leave you nephew, but just know i am here if you need me”

zuko went to take a shower about half an hour later, letting the hot water engulf him. the air was full of thick steam and the water burned. his eyelids were heavy.  
he dreamt of sokka. he dreamt he was underwater. they were laughing. sokka held out his hand for zuko to take and whispered something about being late for practice. zuko looked up. they were no longer underwater but laying under a sky of stars. sokka was still holding his hand; he kissed zuko. zuko could feel his heart beating in his chest. bang bang bang.

he was awoken to his uncle banging on the bathroom door. “zuko! are you okay?”  
zuko realized he was still in the shower. he turned off the water, now freezing cold, unsure of how long he had been asleep. “i”m fine uncle. thank you for waking me”   
zuko put on a sweatshirt and pajama pants, shivering. he went to get a cup of tea but his uncle seemed to have one already ready for him. zuko took a sip, instantly warming up. iroh looked at him and said “nephew i’m not sure what is wrong, but i beg you to talk to me.”  
zuko looked into his tea.  
“i think i’ve made a friend.”  
“well that’s great! i don’t see why you would be upset.”  
“i think i scared him away”  
“why would you say that”  
“he, he called me earlier, asking if i wanted to hang out. i-i-i freaked out; i thought it was a joke.”  
“well nephew i’m sure if you explain what hap-”  
“i came out to him uncle.”  
“if he was truly someone you would want to be friends with, he will understand.”


	3. Chapter 3

monday, in lunch, zuko could see that yue was sitting next to sokka, along with aang and haru. zuko took a chance.  
“hey sokka! is it alright if i sit here?”  
sokka nodded, a little unsure, afraid zuko might blow up again.  
zuko soon learned that sokka and yue weren’t dating, but had “a thing” as aang called it. zuko also decided that while aang was talkative and a bit annoying, he liked him, mainly because zuko didn’t have to talk. haru was nice as well. sokka asked zuko if he was excited that the swim unit was ending. zuko would miss his “lessons” with sokka he realized, and he would miss the water, so he nodded.

after gym and lessons that day sokka and zuko were chatting when zuko stopped “i’m sorry about the other day”  
sokka grabbed his shoulders. “zuko,” he said looking directly into the other boy’s eyes, “i don’t care if you’re gay, if you makes you feel better, i kissed jet once”  
“you kissed jet?” zuko laughed.  
“actually i dated jet, no one knows that, not even aang or katara”  
“are you like, bi?”  
“i don’t know man, i just see hot people all around, like it doesn’t matter to me”  
sokka smiled at zuko, and zuko did something he came to regret.   
he kissed sokka.  
and he was kissing a boy  
and he was kissing someone  
anyone  
and he could feel blood rush to his face.   
and he couldn’t breathe  
and he was too busy thinking about kissing someone he didn’t realize he wasn’t be kissed back.  
sokka pulled away, and even though it felt like eternity, it was no more than a second. “i have to get to practice.  
“yeah” and as sokka walked away zuko was alone in the hallway, surrounded by the scent of chlorine.


	4. Chapter 4

everything was weird from then on. zuko couldn’t fix it.


	5. Chapter 5

1:23am, friday night? saturday morning? that was the time sokka called zuko, drunk.  
“heeeeyyyyy zuko, i wanted to say that you my friend are an excellent kisser. also i’m drunk. i need a ride.”  
“i don’t have a car, or lisense.”  
“then can you just talk. i love your voice, so nice. tell me your life story.”  
so, zuko did. he told him about his childhood with his dad and sister, and his mother's death. he told him about how he realized he was gay. he told him about how when he told his father, he burned his body and face, and sent him to live with his uncle.  
“hey zuko i think i could fall in love with you.”  
“you’re drunk”  
“nah i’m just tipsy” he hiccuped.   
“sokka go to sleep”   
“i think it’s okay to sleep because when i sleep i dream of you”

monday at school, sokka marched over to zuko, grabbed his hand, and said he had come to a kind of epiphany when he woke up on monday.  
“what was the epiphany”  
“be my boyfriend”  
“okay” zuko whispered, and he felt like he was standing in chlorine filled air, because his words could barely come out and everything was hot. and maybe sokka just carried the chlorine with him.   
maybe he had the water in his veins and his soul was swimming. and he was keeping zuko afloat.   
zuko smiled  
sokka did too.


End file.
